


Prisoner's Dilemma

by skywalkersamidala



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Online Dating, me? making use of my economics minor to write a fic? it's more likely than you think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 06:30:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18068345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skywalkersamidala/pseuds/skywalkersamidala
Summary: Lorenzo and Francesco meet on an anonymous dating app—and don't realize that their families own rival banks.





	Prisoner's Dilemma

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sol_Invictus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sol_Invictus/gifts).



> An anon on Tumblr (egged on by Sol_Invictus lmao) wanted me to write a "You've Got Mail" AU for Lorenzo and Francesco, but I've never actually seen that movie myself, so this fic is inspired by the Wikipedia summary of the movie haha

“I don’t understand,” Giuliano said. “Why would you want to use a dating app that doesn’t let you see what the other person looks like?”

“It creates a deeper connection,” Lorenzo insisted. “This way you’re talking and getting to know each other and focusing on personality instead of appearance.”

“But what if you spend all that time investing in the relationship and it turns out they’re ugly?”

“You’re _so_ shallow.”

Giuliano snorted. “And you’re so holier-than-thou,” he said. “Personality is great and all, but there has to be physical attraction too or else the relationship won’t work.”

Lorenzo shrugged. “It’s not like I’m asking someone to _marry_ me without knowing what they look like,” he said.

“Still. _I_ think it’s stupid.”

“Do you want to help me pick someone to message or not?”

“Hell yeah I do.”

Giuliano peered over his shoulder as Lorenzo scrolled through his potential matches. All he could see was the person’s first name, age, gender, and a brief blurb they’d written about themselves. “Too old,” Giuliano said, and Lorenzo went to the next one. “Too young. Sounds boring. Also boring. Boring. Boring. What did you put in _your_ profile to get all these boring people?”

“I don’t know. I said I like history, literature, and art,” Lorenzo said.

Giuliano rolled his eyes. “Of course you did.”

“Hey, what about this one?”

“Francesco, twenty-nine. Looking for commitment and good conversation,” Giuliano read, looking down at Lorenzo’s phone. “He sounds boring and right up your alley.”

“Well, I’m also looking for those things, so I’m going to message him,” Lorenzo said. He chewed his lip, trying to decide what to say.

* * *

Francesco felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see who was texting him. To his surprise, it was a notification from a dating app he’d downloaded weeks ago and promptly forgotten about. Actually, Guglielmo had downloaded it and created a profile for him while Francesco had complained and tried to snatch his phone back. Guglielmo had recently gotten a girlfriend himself, so now he seemed to think it was his job to find Francesco love as well.

“What are you looking for in a relationship?” Guglielmo had asked.

“I told you, I’m not interested in this app. What if someone I know sees me on there? It would be embarrassing.”

“There’s no pictures on this one. No one will know it’s you,” Guglielmo had promised.

“That’s something, at least,” Francesco had grumbled.

“So what are you looking for?”

“I don’t know.”

“Casual? Long-term?”

“Long-term, I guess,” Francesco had admitted despite himself.

“Okay…what else do you want in a partner?”

“I don’t know. Someone who’s easy to talk to?”

Guglielmo had typed away on his phone. “Looking for…commitment and…um…good conversation.”

“That sounds so lame,” Francesco had complained.

“You think of something, then.”

“No. I want no part of this.”

Now, ignoring his better judgment, he opened the app to see who the message was from. _Lorenzo, 25m. Looking for someone to go on adventures with!_

Francesco raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t one for adventure. But he read Lorenzo’s message anyway.

_Hey Francesco! We matched, so we must have similar interests :) What’s your favorite book?_

Francesco couldn’t help but be intrigued. What sort of nerd opened by asking about someone’s favorite book? He found himself actually thinking about what his favorite book was so that he could give a truthful answer.

“Francesco.”

He jumped and shoved his phone back in his pocket just as Jacopo walked into his cubicle. “I need you to go over these accounts,” Jacopo said, dropping a stack of papers on his desk. “They’re full of errors. Again. I don’t know what’s gotten into Guglielmo lately.”

Francesco made a noncommittal noise, not wanting to reveal that Guglielmo’s recent distraction was probably due to his being in love with Bianca de Medici. He had a feeling that wouldn’t go over well with Jacopo, who was determined to run the Medici bank out of business and considered the entire family personal enemies of his.

Jacopo left, and fixing Guglielmo’s (abundant) mistakes kept Francesco so occupied for the rest of the day that he didn’t remember Lorenzo’s message again until after he’d arrived home and eaten dinner. He pulled out his phone and considered it. Lorenzo had probably given him up as a lost cause and moved on to another match by now.

 _Not sure if it counts as a book, but Il Principe. Machiavelli,_ Francesco replied.

He didn’t know why his heart leapt when Lorenzo responded almost immediately. _Interesting choice.....are you a politician?_

_No, I work in finance. But that can be even more Machiavellian than politics_

_Haha fair enough!_

_What’s your favorite book then?_

_I’ve always liked poetry. Ovid especially. The Metamorphoses is probably my favorite_

Francesco felt a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Yes, this Lorenzo was clearly a nerd. _I had to read some of that in Latin class at school years ago. Nightmare_

_You don’t like Latin?_

_I’m more of a math person_

_But Latin IS a little like math. Every sentence is a formula waiting to be solved if you can just figure out each word’s function_

_Yeah, the “figuring out each word’s function” is the part I couldn’t do_

_Hahaha_

Francesco couldn’t believe that he was sitting here talking about Latin and math on a dating app—and that he was _enjoying_ it. They soon moved on to other topics—Lorenzo was very talkative and had a wide range of interests, apparently—but they continued talking until Francesco glanced at the time and jumped when he saw that it was midnight already.

 _I have to go, sorry,_ he said. _Getting up early for work tomorrow_

 _Oh shit me too,_ Lorenzo replied. _I didn’t realize how late it was_

_Me neither_

_Talk to you later?_

Again Francesco felt himself smiling as he read the words. _Definitely_

* * *

“Why do we have to meet with the Pazzis?” Giuliano whined as they walked towards the front door of the Pazzi bank, a cold-looking modern building that stood in stark contrast to the charming historic building several blocks away that housed the Medici bank.

“We need to ask for a loan,” Lucrezia said. “And unfortunately, the Pazzi bank is the most prosperous in Florence right now.”

“We’re asking for a _loan?_ From the _Pazzis?”_

“Just an overnight one.”

“But—”

“Giuliano, trust me when I say that I would not be doing this unless it was absolutely essential,” Lucrezia said firmly. “Now, I think it would be best if you left the talking to me. And I hope I don’t have to remind you not to insult Jacopo Pazzi to his face.”

Giuliano muttered something under his breath but promised to behave. “Remember not to say anything about Bianca and Guglielmo,” Lorenzo added. “Bianca said Jacopo doesn’t know and would be furious if he found out.”

“Dammit,” said Giuliano. “I wasn’t even thinking about them until you said that, and now it’s all I’m going to be able to think about for the whole meeting.”

The meeting hadn’t even started yet, and Lucrezia already looked exhausted.

The receptionist greeted them and escorted them to a conference room. As they walked, Lorenzo did his best to stop being so nervous. Lucrezia tried to hide the full extent of it from her children, but he knew their bank was on the verge of disaster. Lorenzo hated to admit it, because he loved his father and missed him terribly, but Piero had mismanaged things over the past decade or so. When he’d died the previous year, he’d left a giant mess for the rest of the family to clean up.

Well, everyone except Bianca, who wanted nothing to do with the bank and had instead gone to music school. She was a professional musician now and starting to become well-known throughout all of Tuscany as an organ player. _It’s easy to become famous for an instrument hardly anyone plays,_ she always joked, but in truth she really was incredibly talented, which was why the rest of them hadn’t been able to find it in themselves to resent her for walking away from the family business.

It was at one of her concerts that she’d met Guglielmo Pazzi, and they had quickly fallen for each other and begun a relationship. Bianca had broken the news to the family a few weeks ago; Lorenzo and Lucrezia had been astonished but cautiously supportive, and Giuliano had grumbled about him being a Pazzi, but they all knew it was only talk and that he also was glad Bianca was happy.

Still, Lorenzo couldn’t quite fathom how Bianca had managed to fall for a Pazzi. He’d never actually met any of them, but he’d always gotten the impression that they were all terrible. _I guess we’ll see,_ he thought as he followed Lucrezia and Giuliano into the conference room.

There were three people waiting for them: a man Lucrezia’s age who must be Jacopo Pazzi, and two young men who were presumably his nephews. Lorenzo recognized Guglielmo from pictures Bianca had shown them, and he observed him carefully. He wasn’t exceptionally handsome, in Lorenzo’s opinion, but he had a kind face and Lorenzo decided he could see why Bianca liked him.

Then his attention slid to the other nephew, Francesco. The name made Lorenzo think of the Francesco he’d met on his dating app the week before, and he fought back a smile, scolding himself that this was not the time to get distracted and start daydreaming.

Francesco Pazzi _was_ exceptionally handsome, Lorenzo thought, accidentally staring at him longer than he probably should have. Unconsciously he started wondering what his Francesco looked like. He wouldn’t be mad if he looked something like Francesco Pazzi.

“Signora de Medici, welcome,” Jacopo said, startling Lorenzo out of his thoughts. “And this must be young Lorenzo and Giuliano.”

“Not so young anymore, I’m afraid,” Lucrezia said with a nostalgic sigh. “They grow up fast, don’t they?”

Jacopo chuckled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “They do indeed. These are my nephews, Guglielmo and Francesco.”

Greetings and handshakes were exchanged all around, and then everyone took a seat at the conference table. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” Lucrezia said.

“Of course,” said Jacopo. “So, what brings you here?”

Lucrezia paused for a second; Lorenzo got the distinct impression that she was swallowing her pride. “I wanted to discuss the possibility of the Medici bank receiving an overnight loan from your bank.”

“A loan,” Jacopo repeated. He adopted a sympathetic expression. “I imagine things must have been difficult at the bank since your husband’s passing.”

Giuliano scowled and opened his mouth to retort, and Lorenzo kicked him under the table. “Everything is fine, thank you,” Lucrezia said stiffly. “But every bank needs a loan from time to time, I’m sure yours is no exception.”

“Certainly,” Guglielmo said with an encouraging smile. “Just last month we—”

He fell silent as Jacopo leveled him with a cool stare. “Thank you, Guglielmo,” he said before turning back to Lucrezia. “I must admit, I’m surprised you would come to _us._ I thought you were on particularly good terms with the Soderini bank.”

“They were…unable to assist us.” The Soderini bank was also struggling; the Pazzi bank had lowered its interest rates beyond what any of the other banks could afford to charge, and it was snatching up the other banks’ customers left and right.

“I see.” Jacopo smiled, infuriatingly smug. “Well, I am sure we can come to an agreement that satisfies both of us.”

As they began negotiating the terms of the loan, Lorenzo paid close attention, knowing Lucrezia had brought him along as a learning experience; she’d told him more than once that she wanted to retire as soon as he was ready to take over as the bank’s president. Giuliano was texting someone (probably Simonetta) under the table and so was Guglielmo (probably Bianca), but Francesco was also watching Jacopo and Lucrezia intently.

Lorenzo found himself wondering about the younger Pazzi brother. Jacopo despised the Medici, whereas Guglielmo was dating one. Where on the spectrum did Francesco fall? Had Jacopo indoctrinated him with his hatred, or was he more like Guglielmo, willing to look past old feuds in favor of new partnerships?

“I’m surprised he even gave us the loan at all,” Giuliano said as they left after securing the loan (on terms less generous than they had hoped for). “I figured he’d rather let us struggle.”

“He probably enjoys making us feel like we owe him one,” Lorenzo pointed out. “Especially since—ah, shit, I left my briefcase. You go on, I’ll meet you back at the bank.”

Lucrezia and Giuliano continued on their way, and Lorenzo crossed back to the other side of the street and reentered the Pazzi bank. He went over to the elevator and pressed the up button, but when it arrived on his floor, the doors opened and Francesco Pazzi walked out with his briefcase.

“Oh,” he said when he saw Lorenzo. “You left this.”

“Yes. Thank you.” Lorenzo took it from him, and Francesco nodded and turned to get back in the elevator, but Lorenzo blurted out, “Wait.”

Francesco paused, and the elevator doors shut and it went to another floor. “Yes?”

For a moment, Lorenzo just looked at him, trying to put what he wanted to say into words. “It doesn’t have to be like this, you know,” he said.

“Like what?”

“This—this rivalry. Our bank versus your bank,” he said. “Our grandparents may have hated each other, but our generation, we could be friends.”

Francesco gave him a patronizing look. “There are no friends in business.”

“Our siblings are dating, Francesco,” Lorenzo said, lowering his voice in case Jacopo was hiding in a nearby potted plant. “We have to get along, for their sake.”

“I don’t see why,” Francesco replied. “Their relationship doesn’t involve us. I’m happy that my brother is happy, and I’m sure your sister is nice enough, but there’s no reason why _I_ have to be friends with _you.”_

“We have to get along for the good of our banks, then,” Lorenzo said, trying a different tack. “The Pazzi bank’s interest rates are too low, you’re undercutting the other banks and forcing us to lower our rates too—”

“That’s _your_ problem, not ours.”

“It _is_ your problem, because if interest rates keep getting lower and lower, it could result in a financial crisis that will definitely affect your bank. It’s a classic prisoner’s dilemma,” Lorenzo said. “If our banks both choose to do what benefits us individually, we’ll both end up worse off. But if we both choose to make short-term sacrifices in order to help each other out instead of acting purely out of self-interest, we’ll both be better off in the long run.”

Francesco narrowed his eyes. “This is the real world, Medici, not an introductory economics class,” he said, though he sounded a little uncertain.

Lorenzo shrugged. “Just…think about it,” he said. “Your uncle does things one way, but you have the power to do things differently, if you choose.”

He turned around and walked back towards the bank’s exit, feeling Francesco’s eyes on him the whole way.

* * *

_Sorry long day!! Anyway yeah I love Rome too, so much history. I haven’t been there in a few years though, I’d love to go back_

Francesco smiled when he saw the reply, feeling relieved. Lorenzo had gone several hours without answering his question, and he’d been half-afraid he’d suddenly decided he wasn’t interested in him anymore. _Long day for me too,_ he said, thinking of the meeting with the Medici and of being cornered by Lorenzo de Medici afterwards. But he pushed that Lorenzo out of his head so he could focus on this one. _You had work today right?_

_Yeah, and things aren’t going so well there right now_

_Sorry to hear that_

_Don’t be, I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end,_ Lorenzo replied. _But that’s enough about work! Tell me more about living in Rome_

So Francesco did. He had returned only recently to Florence after several years working at the Rome branch of the Pazzi bank. But the Florence branch was the main one, so Jacopo had called him back to begin grooming him to take over as the bank’s president once he was ready to step down; they all knew Francesco was better suited to the role even though Guglielmo was older.

Francesco didn’t mention any of that to Lorenzo, though, instead telling him about the museums he’d visited and the food he’d eaten and the people he’d met. _Maybe it’s just because I grew up here, but Florence can feel so small sometimes,_ he said. _In Rome it felt like I could do anything or be anyone_

In the back of his mind, he found himself thinking again of Lorenzo de Medici’s words. _You have the power to do things differently, if you choose_. Did he, though? Everything was so deeply entrenched in Florence. In Florence he was a Pazzi, in Florence he was limited by the expectations put on him by Jacopo, by the Medici, by everybody who knew his family’s reputation. But in Rome, he had been only Francesco.

Much like how he was when he talked to Lorenzo on this practically anonymous app.

 _I get that. Sometimes in Florence it feels like everybody knows everybody else’s business,_ Lorenzo said. _But it’s always been home to me. I don’t think I could ever move somewhere else_

_Yeah. It IS nice being back_

Several weeks later, Guglielmo somehow managed to talk him into coming to one of Bianca’s concerts. “Why?” Francesco asked.

“Because I think you’d enjoy it. You like music.”

“Yes, but—”

“And I want you to meet her,” Guglielmo added.

 _There_ was the reason. “Already?” Francesco said. “Haven’t you only been dating a month or two?”

“Two,” Guglielmo confirmed. “I know it seems a little soon to be meeting each other’s families, but I’ve already met her whole family—”

“Yeah, at a business meeting in which you barely talked to them. That doesn’t count.”

“It does too. Anyway, she’s already really important to me even though we’ve only been dating two months,” Guglielmo said. “And of course _you’re_ the most important person in my life, so I want you to meet her. Please?”

Francesco’s heart melted a little despite himself. “Oh, fine. I’ll come to the concert,” he said, and when Guglielmo beamed at him he couldn’t help but smile back.

Guglielmo neglected to tell him, however, that the entire Medici family would be there. And that they would be sitting with them. Francesco ended up sitting between Guglielmo and Lorenzo de Medici. As they waited for the concert to start, Guglielmo was caught up in conversation with Lucrezia while Giuliano, sitting on Lorenzo’s other side, was entirely absorbed by the blonde woman he’d introduced as his girlfriend Simonetta.

Apparently, Lorenzo took this to mean that he should chat with Francesco. “You look nice,” he said.

Why did the offhand comment make Francesco feel so flustered? “Uh, thanks,” he mumbled. They’d all dressed up a bit for the concert, and he tried not to look at the way Lorenzo’s button-down shirt fit him exactly right.

“How’s everything at the bank?”

“Are you trying to spy on us?”

Lorenzo laughed. “No, just making conversation.”

“The bank is fine. You?”

“Also fine.”

“Really?” Francesco said skeptically. “Needed any more loans lately?”

“No,” Lorenzo said, frowning.

“Hmm. Perhaps the Medici bank will finally be able to get back on its feet, now that your father’s gone.”

Francesco regretted the spiteful words as soon as they left his mouth. Lorenzo’s jaw tightened and he was silent for a moment before saying in a carefully controlled voice, “My father may not have made the best business decisions, but I would appreciate it if you didn’t speak of him that way.”

Francesco’s stomach twisted with guilt as he was reminded all too clearly of the fact that Lorenzo had lost his father only a year ago. How would _he_ have felt to hear someone speaking ill of his parents a year after their deaths? How would he have felt to hear it now, twenty years afterwards?

“Forgive me,” Francesco said quietly. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Lorenzo said, giving him a little smile, and Francesco was amazed at how quick he was to forgive. Perhaps that was just his nature. “And…you’re not wrong to say that things have been looking up for the bank since my mother took over.”

“Well, it was still a horrible thing for me to say,” Francesco said. “I of all people should’ve known better.”

He added the last bit without thinking, and Lorenzo looked closely at him. “How old were you? When your parents died.”

Francesco stared down at his hands. “Ten.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“Still. It was hard enough losing one parent as an adult,” Lorenzo said. “I can’t imagine how it would’ve felt to lose both of them as a child.”

Francesco cleared his throat, which suddenly felt tight. Fortunately he was saved from having to respond by a burst of applause as Bianca walked out on stage. They were sitting right in the front row, so Francesco studied her with no small amount of curiosity, wondering what sort of person his brother’s girlfriend was.

He glanced sideways at Guglielmo and saw him watching her raptly, already smiling even though she hadn’t begun to play yet. Bianca smiled as the crowd applauded her, but when she caught Guglielmo’s eye, Francesco could see her smile grow even brighter.

For a moment his heart ached with something almost like loneliness. Would anyone ever smile at him like that?

Bianca sat down at the organ and started to play, and immediately Francesco was swept away by the music. It turned out all of Guglielmo’s praises hadn’t just been the ramblings of a lovesick idiot; Francesco couldn’t remember the last time he had heard something so beautiful. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the music wash over him.

When he opened them again, Lorenzo was looking at him. Their eyes met and Lorenzo quickly glanced away, and Francesco thought he saw a faint blush creeping into his face.

They went to meet Bianca after the concert was over, and Guglielmo gave her flowers and kissed her on the cheek. “You were amazing,” he said.

“You really were,” Lucrezia said, hugging her as Lorenzo, Giuliano, and Simonetta voiced similar sentiments. Francesco did too, but a sudden shyness made him mumble them too quietly for anyone but himself to hear.

“Thank you,” Bianca said, beaming. “I’m so glad you all could come!”

She hugged everyone else, and then she turned to Francesco. “This is Francesco,” Guglielmo said. “Francesco, Bianca.”

Francesco was startled when Bianca hugged him too. “It’s nice to meet you, Francesco,” she said. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Me too,” said Francesco. “And I really enjoyed the concert. You played beautifully.”

“Thank you! Guglielmo said you like classical music?”

“I do, yes. The Bach fugue you played is one of my favorite organ pieces.”

“Oh, that’s one of my favorites too, I’ve been playing it for years but I just never get tired of it.”

They chatted for another few minutes—Francesco could see Guglielmo looking delighted and relieved to see them hitting it off—before Bianca’s attention was taken by Giuliano and Simonetta. “I’m probably going to head home,” Francesco told Guglielmo. “But…thanks for inviting me.”

“Thanks for coming,” Guglielmo said, hugging him goodbye. “See you at work tomorrow.”

“Yeah.”

“I was about to leave too,” Lorenzo said suddenly. “I’ll walk with you.”

“Oh,” Francesco said. “All right, then.”

They congratulated Bianca again and said their goodbyes, and then they headed outside together. They walked in silence for a while, but for some reason Francesco felt obligated to break it. “So…do you live on your own?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Lorenzo. “I just got my own apartment recently. You?”

“I have my own place too, ever since I moved back from Rome.”

Lorenzo paused. “Rome?”

“I was living there for a few years, working in the branch of our bank down there,” Francesco said. “I only came back about six months ago.”

“You lived in Rome for a few years?” Lorenzo repeated. “Until just recently?”

“Yes,” Francesco said uncertainly. “Is there…something wrong with that?”

“No. No, not at all,” Lorenzo said rather quickly. “I just—never mind.”

“Okay…” Francesco came to a halt. “I turn here,” he said, gesturing down a side street.

“Oh, I’m going the other way. I guess I’ll see you later, then,” Lorenzo said, and he started to go.

“Lorenzo,” Francesco said, and he stopped and turned back to look at him. “I’ve been thinking about what you said a few weeks ago. And…maybe you’re right. That things should change, that our banks would both be better off if we worked together. But I don’t know what _I_ can do about it on my own.”

Lorenzo gave him a small smile. “You wouldn’t be on your own,” he said. “I would be by your side.”

He continued on his way, and Francesco watched him for a minute before turning and going back to his own apartment. He checked his phone and saw that he had no new messages from Lorenzo on the dating app, but for the first time he wasn’t all that disappointed about it. Because as he drifted off to sleep that night, it was Lorenzo de Medici he was thinking of.

* * *

“How many people named Francesco are in Florence, do you think?” Lorenzo asked.

“I don’t know,” Bianca said. “Tons. Why?”

“You think it’s a lot?”

“Sure. There were about seven Francescoes in my year at school.”

“That’s true, there were a lot in my year too.”

“Why do you ask?” Bianca repeated.

“Oh, there was just a weird coincidence the other day,” Lorenzo said evasively. “Anyway, everyone seemed to like Guglielmo at the concert.”

“Do you think so?” Bianca said, looking hopeful

“Yeah, Mom kept saying how nice he was and even Giuliano agreed.”

“Has he gotten over him being a Pazzi?”

“I think so.”

“Thank God. I was so worried you all would be upset about that.”

Lorenzo shrugged. “We’re happy as long as you’re happy.”

Bianca smiled. “What about you? Anything new in your love life?”

“Not really.” Lorenzo bit his lip, then said, “Well, there _is_ this guy I met on a dating app about a month ago. We’ve been talking a lot.”

“Oooh,” Bianca said excitedly. “Show me a picture! Is he cute?”

“I don’t know. The app doesn’t have photos.”

“Wait, really? Why not?”

“So that you can get to know someone’s personality first instead of immediately judging them only on appearance. But it’s not like you can’t _ever_ see them,” Lorenzo added when Bianca frowned. “You can always arrange to meet up in person or something.”

“But what if you go to meet them and it turns out to be some total creep trying to abduct you?”

Lorenzo’s brow furrowed. “Huh. I guess I never thought about that.”

“Of course you didn’t. You’re a man,” Bianca said, rolling her eyes. “So, does your guy sound like a creep who’s going to abduct you?”

“Um…no? But now you’re kind of making me second-guess everything.”

She laughed. “Okay, okay, I’m sure it’s probably fine. So what’s he like? What’s his name?”

“Francesco.”

“Francesco?” Bianca said, raising her eyebrows. “Does this have anything to do with the coincidence you were talking about?”

“Maybe,” Lorenzo mumbled. “But it’s not important. Anyway, he’s great. Really interesting to talk to, and he’s got this dry sense of humor…”

He summarized some of the conversations he’d had with Francesco. “He does sound nice,” Bianca agreed. “You should arrange to meet up with him in person.”

“And pray that he’s not a creep,” Lorenzo said wryly. “But yeah, maybe I will.”

He toyed with the idea for days. And he couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation with Francesco Pazzi after the concert. He’d lived in Rome for a few years and only just moved back to Florence, same as app-Francesco. But _surely_ that was only a coincidence. After all, there were tons of Francescoes in Florence, it wasn’t out of the question that two of them could have lived in Rome during a similar timeframe.

But app-Francesco was twenty-nine, and Lorenzo was fairly certain Francesco Pazzi was also about that age… _Just a coincidence,_ he told himself firmly. There could be two twenty-nine-year-old Francescoes in Florence who had lived in Rome recently. It was entirely possible.

At last he decided to take the plunge and ask Francesco if he wanted to meet in person. He was both relieved and anxious when he agreed. They made plans to have lunch the following Saturday, and Lorenzo’s nerves mounted as the day approached.

Saturday afternoon, after agonizing over his appearance for longer than he would’ve cared to admit, Lorenzo made his way to the agreed-upon restaurant. He scanned the outdoor tables first, and his heart dropped into his stomach when he saw Francesco Pazzi sitting at one of them.

Lorenzo was tempted to run away, but some part of him was still insisting it could be a coincidence, and next thing he knew he was standing right next to Francesco’s table. “Francesco,” he said. “Hi.”

Francesco looked up. “Oh, Lorenzo,” he said, looking startled. “Hello.”

“What are you doing here?” Lorenzo asked rather nosily, but he _needed_ to get to the bottom of this.

“Meeting someone for lunch.”

“Who?”

Francesco raised his eyebrows. “Why do you care?”

“Just curious,” Lorenzo said, trying to sound calm.

“Oh. Well, I…” Francesco blushed and avoided his eyes. “I…sort of have a date,” he said, biting his lip like he was trying to hide a smile.

“A date,” Lorenzo repeated numbly.

“Yeah. I’m not sure what he looks like, though, we met on an app,” he said. “Tell me if you see someone looking for me, would you? His name is Lorenzo too.”

For a second Lorenzo froze. Should he tell Francesco the truth? He had the right to know. But what if he was angry? What if he never wanted to see Lorenzo again? Lorenzo couldn’t take that chance, not now that his conversations with Francesco had become the highlight of his days. He didn’t want to lose him.

“Actually, I have to go now,” he heard himself saying. “But it was good to see you.”

“Didn’t you just get here?” Francesco said, looking puzzled. “Aren’t you going to eat first?”

“Um…I was, but I just remembered there’s somewhere I’m supposed to be,” Lorenzo lied. “See you around.”

“Bye, then.”

Lorenzo hurried out of there as fast as he dared, haunted by the distinct feeling that he’d made the wrong choice but too much of a coward to go back and make the right one.

* * *

_I’m SO sorry Francesco, something came up at the last minute and I forgot to let you know that I couldn’t make it. I’m really really sorry!!!_

Francesco reread the message for the dozenth time, frowning and trying to decide what to say. If anything. Maybe he should just delete this stupid app once and for all. Lorenzo had stood him up and was now trying to make pathetic excuses for it. Francesco had felt like such an idiot, waiting at the restaurant for an hour before finally acknowledging that Lorenzo wasn’t coming. He was angry, hurt, embarrassed…yes, his life would definitely be better if he got rid of the app and forgot all about Lorenzo.

His thumb hovered over the button to delete it, but after a moment he sighed and switched his phone off, putting it back in his pocket. But even if he was keeping the app, he still wasn’t going to respond to Lorenzo’s message—he was too proud to forgive him, but too tired to bother getting in a fight with him. It would be easiest if Francesco just ignored him and if Lorenzo did the same.

But in the following weeks, Lorenzo did _not_ do the same. Every few days Francesco would get yet another message apologizing; he thought he should be annoyed by it, yet there was a hopeful part of him that thought surely Lorenzo wouldn’t try this hard to make amends if he really _had_ stood Francesco up on purpose and didn’t care about him at all.

Francesco was rereading Lorenzo’s latest message one afternoon at Guglielmo’s apartment while they were hanging out with Bianca and her brothers, because apparently that was a thing they did now. _I know I must’ve hurt you and I’m really sorry. I’d like to make it up to you, but I get it if you don’t want to talk to me anymore. Just say the word and I’ll leave you alone, I promise._

“You okay?”

Francesco looked up and saw Lorenzo de Medici looking at him. “Fine,” he said.

“You look upset,” Lorenzo said, quietly enough that the rest of their siblings wouldn’t hear over their own conversation.

“I’m not upset,” Francesco lied.

“Well, all right, then. Hey, how was your date a few weeks ago?”

“Oh, it was okay,” Francesco said, his pride not letting him admit that his date had never shown up. “I’m not sure I want to see him again, though.”

For an odd moment he thought Lorenzo looked almost…disappointed. “Why not?”

Francesco shrugged. “I don’t know if he’s that interested in me.”

“Are you interested in him?” Lorenzo asked, looking intently at him.

“Why do you care so much?” Francesco said, puzzled.

“Oh, no reason,” Lorenzo said quickly. “It’s just that when I ran into you at the restaurant you seemed like you were looking forward to the date…”

“I did?”

“Yeah. You smiled,” Lorenzo said. “I’ve never seen you smile before.”

“Oh,” Francesco said. “Fine, yes, I was interested in him. But like I said, I don’t think he feels the same way—”

“You’d be surprised.”

“What?”

“I just mean,” said Lorenzo (was he blushing?), “that maybe you should give him another chance. The way someone behaves on a first date doesn’t always reflect how they really feel. If he didn’t seem interested, maybe he was just nervous.”

Francesco just looked at him. “Why are you acting so weird?”

“I’m not acting weird,” Lorenzo said rather defensively.

“Yes, you are,” he said. “We barely know each other and suddenly you’re all interested in my love life? Why do you care if I see this guy again or not?”

“I…I guess it just feels like I do know you well,” Lorenzo said. “For whatever reason.”

Francesco shook his head and turned his attention back to whatever Giuliano was saying that was making Bianca and Guglielmo laugh so hard.

But Lorenzo’s words were floating around in his head for the rest of the day. Was he right? _Had_ Francesco been too quick to judge his Lorenzo? Maybe his failure to show up at the date really had been an honest mistake.

As he was getting in bed that night, Francesco pulled out his phone and reread the message yet again. _Ok. One more chance,_ he typed out. He took a deep breath and hit send before he could lose his nerve.

* * *

They arranged to meet in the Parco delle Cascine. Francesco was the first to arrive at the meeting spot, and his anxiety and regret mounted as the minutes ticked by. Yes, he’d gotten there earlier than the agreed-upon time, Lorenzo still had plenty of time to get there…but what if he didn’t come? What if Francesco had stupidly set himself up for more humiliation?

“Hey, Francesco,” said a familiar voice.

Francesco glanced up from his phone and saw Lorenzo de Medici approaching. “Hi,” he said, wondering why they kept running into each other lately. “Out for a walk?”

“I guess you could say that,” Lorenzo said, which seemed like a weird response but Francesco was too anxious and distracted to question it.

He turned his attention back to his phone, and Lorenzo did the same. Francesco checked the time. Two minutes until his Lorenzo was supposed to be there. Just as he was about to message him and ask if he was coming, a message popped up on the screen.

_I’m here._

_Where?_ Francesco replied. _I don’t see you._

“Right here.”

Francesco froze, and he stared at his phone for a long moment before slowly lifting his eyes. Lorenzo de Medici was smiling at him, looking amused and nervous and hopeful all at once. “You…?” Francesco said, struggling to comprehend the truth that was, quite literally, staring him in the face. “You’re Lorenzo? I mean, _my_ Lorenzo?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’m your Lorenzo.” Lorenzo held up his phone to prove it, and sure enough Francesco saw the same app, the same messages that he had on his own phone.

Francesco exhaled, thinking hard, reevaluating every memory he had of both app-Lorenzo and Lorenzo de Medici now that he knew they’d been the same person the whole time. For some reason, once the initial shock wore off, he found he wasn’t at all surprised or upset. Because when he’d begun talking to Lorenzo in person, something about him had felt familiar even though they’d never met.

And…because Francesco had been falling for _both_ Lorenzoes these past weeks. Honestly, them being the same person made things a lot easier for him.

“That day at the restaurant,” he realized. “You _didn’t_ stand me up. You came.”

“Yes. And when I got there I realized that _you_ were my Francesco,” Lorenzo said. “So I panicked and left, and then made up some bullshit excuse for why I hadn’t shown up. I’m really sorry. I should’ve told you the truth right then, but…I was afraid you might react badly.”

“Why?”

“Well, because I’m a Medici and you’re a Pazzi,” he said. “I was afraid that if you knew who I really was, you wouldn’t want to see me again. So… _are_ you upset that it’s me?”

Francesco considered him for a long moment. “You know, sometimes relationships can be their own kind of prisoner’s dilemma,” he said finally.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, right now I’m faced with a choice. Either I tell you the truth about how I feel about you, or I lie. And I have to make that choice without knowing how you feel or what you’ll say,” he said. “So there’s four possible outcomes. One, I tell you I don’t like you and you say the same thing, and we’re both worse off. Two, I say that but you say you do like me, in which case I can walk away with my pride intact, but you’ll be hurt. Three, the same thing except vice versa.”

Lorenzo was starting to smile. “And the fourth outcome?”

“The fourth outcome…in the fourth outcome I say I like you, and you say you like me,” Francesco said. “This one’s the hardest to achieve, because it means both of us would have to choose to take a risk. Telling you I have feelings for you could be potentially humiliating if you don’t feel the same way, so it would be much easier for me to say I feel nothing.”

“But if we _do_ achieve this outcome,” Lorenzo said, “both of us would be better off.”

“Exactly.”

“Well then? What’s your choice going to be?”

Francesco smirked at him. “It’s not a true prisoner’s dilemma if you hear my choice before making yours,” he said. “We’ll have to both say it at the same time.”

Lorenzo laughed. “Fine. On three?”

“On three.”

“One…”

Francesco took a deep breath, his hands sweating and his heart pounding.

“…two…”

He met Lorenzo’s eyes, his nerves calming when he saw the way Lorenzo was smiling at him.

“…three.”

“I have feelings for you,” he said, just as Lorenzo said, “I really like you, Francesco.”

They stared at each other for a second, and then they both started to laugh. “The elusive ideal outcome,” Francesco said. “They said it could almost never happen, since humans are selfish by nature.”

“To be fair, the ‘selfless’ choice in this dilemma wasn’t really all that selfless,” Lorenzo said.

“No?”

“No. Because when I decided to tell you the truth about how I felt, I wasn’t only doing it for _your_ benefit.” Lorenzo gave him a cheeky grin. “I was hoping I might get a kiss out of it.”

“You were, were you?” Francesco was smiling too, and he took a step closer to him. “I suppose that can be arranged.”

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against Lorenzo’s, resting his hands against his chest as Lorenzo’s arms wrapped around his waist. Lorenzo eagerly kissed him back, and normally Francesco would’ve been highly embarrassed about making out with somebody in such a public place but he was far too happy to care.

At last Lorenzo drew back slightly, resting his forehead against Francesco’s and smiling at him so brightly that Francesco felt like his heart might burst. “Let me take you out to dinner,” Lorenzo said. “Tomorrow night.”

“Only if you promise to show up,” Francesco said with a grin.

“All right, I deserved that,” Lorenzo said sheepishly, but he was laughing. “And I promise. I’d be an idiot to stand up the most gorgeous man in Florence, if not the world, twice.”

Francesco scoffed. “Shut up.”

“Make me.”

So Francesco kissed him again.


End file.
